65 



mid-mountain forest of the Mandated Territory. It 

 seems to prefer figs to any other host. 



Turning from the aesthetic side to the material, I 

 will give the result of the Ogeramnang survey. Thi 



a little sample area of 4 acres. It is probably on 

 account of this that the data collected escaped the 



is is 



general pillage of 



diary; 



my 



gear, for I had them in my 



Herb. 



No. 



525 

 553 

 552 

 554 

 555 

 556 

 557 



Forests of Ogeramnang. 



Sample Area, 4 acres. 



Native Names. 



Gua 



Kuvi 



Gerep 



Mutzumutsu 

 Ngangi 

 Mang 

 So an 



No. of 



Trees. 



Volume 



Percentages' 



Total. 



2 

 12 



1 



All uncle 

 5 

 2 

 1 



23 



263 



882 

 258 

 rsized 



286 

 190 



68 



Per 



\ i re 



66 



220 



64 



Per 



Tree 



57 

 47 



17 



1,947 



486 



131 



73 



258 



7-1 

 95 



68 



To Total 

 Volume. 



13-5 

 453 

 1325 



84 



1 4 ■ 69 

 9-76 

 3-49 



ToTr 



<es 



8 

 52 



71 

 17 



100 



4 • 35 

 21-74 



8-71 

 4- 35 



100 



Aeres 



to Trers 



2 



J 

 4 



2 

 4 



Botanical Name 



Semec-arpus sj). 



Indt. 



Podocarpus amara. 



Podocarpus cu press in-a 



Indt. 



H im a n ta n dra Belgravea na 



Calophyllum sp. 



From the above little sample area it will be seen that same height, and clambers over the crooked stems of 

 the stocking in these mid-mountain forests is light. They the trees; it is one of the very few lianas to penetrate 



lack the heavy stands of Arauearia, which made this 



so high. Of soilcovers, the common Daw soma is most 



type of country so attractive in Papua. The other plentiful, as are filmy ferns and nettles. A new species 



species enumerated on the previous page did not fall of Pilea was met with around 9,000 feet, and four 



within the sample area, which shows that they are not species of Ehdostema. Of trees there is little to write 

 very common. That none of the oaks showed up was 



singular, for, as a rule, they are plentiful. Kuvi, ~No. 

 553. ' " 



till 10,500 feet is reached, when the timber of the 

 higher levels begins to be met with. Phyllocladus liopo- 



Liliocedrus pap u ana, Seme- 



phyllus, Dacrydiu m sp., 



carpus sp., Podocarpus sp 



scribed in the next sub-section, for I think they must 



These trees will be de- 



was remarkably plentiful — indeed, half the stand 

 consisted of this rather soft, and, I am afraid, not very 

 valuable species. _ 



I got better, and, I think, more representative sample be regarded as belonging to the so-called alpine flora 

 areas above Joangey and on the other slope of the Bengi 

 River, but the papers relating to this work were de- 

 stroyed, and from memory I cannot say more than that 

 the forest had a large percentage of big conifers — • 

 Dacrydium and Podocarpus — and that the oaks were 

 strongly represented. 



regions in the tropics. 



The Mossy Forests. 

 In the Papuan section of thi 



s report, p. 45, 

 I have described the appearance and general com- 

 position of that curious vegetation of the clouds 

 — the mossy forests, 

 it occurs at about the 



In the Mandated Territory 



levels, viz., between 



to 11,000 



same -~ . v *~, 

 7,500 and 8,000 feet, ajid continues up 



feet. It is the most distressingly uncomfortable 



region a traveller encounters in the tropics. Better by 



far find yourself benighted in a mosquito-infested swamp 



on the Ramu than forced to camp in the mossy forests. 



The continuous cold Scotch mist blows through this 



stunted tangle, and all the world drips. Nothing will 



burn, and even when he has foresight enough to bring 



up firewood with him, the traveller has some trouble 



to keep a fire going. With the temperature down to 



40 deg., and the air saturated with moisture, the native 



carriers suffer acutely, and blankets and flannel shirts JSf hVfou^ huts" 



are not enough to keep them warm under a dank tent " ~ 



and as intruders in the mossy forest. 



Ilnnr Mountain Forest (Alpine Grass Lands). 



I am not at all happy about the name given to the 

 upper limits of mountainous 



My exploration of such areas in the Mandated Terri- 

 tory has shown that the Schimper generalization re- 

 garding these lofty regions is not applicable. There 

 is grass land in plenty, but it is not a natural feature 

 of the vegetation, except on very steep slopes, so steep 

 as to make tree growth impossible; elsewhere, these 

 vast areas of grass are due to natives burning the 

 forest. At one time, these bald-headed mountains were 

 covered with a forest of Podocarpus, Dacrydium, and 

 Phyllocladus, with a few non-coniferous woods, such 

 as Eugenia and Calophyllum. The precipitous slopes 

 and marsh lands carried graminae, and these grasses 



have been spread by the natives. Annually he goes up 



ro the topmost peaks of all the ranges and hunts the 

 wallaby. It is only on the lower mountains, those that 

 only reach the mossy forest — a region the native dis- 

 likes as much as I do — are there no tracks, but where 

 tracks are found in the mossy forest it is a sure sign 

 that away beyond is hunting country, and up there 



fly. 



The wise ones will take advantage of a large 



Phyllocladus with well-spread aerial roots, and on these 

 will pile moss and leaves until a bell tent is made 

 with a living pole growing through the peak. In that, 

 with a good fire, a number of boys will keep warm till 

 dawn. The best way is not to camp in this inhospitable 

 region, but push on and up till the so-called alpine vege- 

 tation is reached. Unfortunately, the country between 

 7,500 and 11,000 feet is often very difficult', and one 

 is forced to camp before gettin 

 forests. 



In addition to the species enumerated in the Papuan 

 mossy forests, I can now add the following: Sfypheh'a 

 sp., a shrub which occurs in openings in the forest and 



on its upper limits in grass land. All the Rhododen- 

 drons are to be found in the mossy forest. Those of 

 the mid-mountain region penetrate well up to 10,000 



g free of the mossy 



to give the hunters protection in the cold nights. The 

 nights are very cold at 12',000 feet, as will be seen from 

 the temperature records below. All the grass top is 

 criss-crossed with hunting pads, and the waters, which 

 are in the form of lakes and marshlands, carry both 

 snipe and duck, while the thick red-brown coated wallaby 

 is very common in the grass. A fuller description of 

 one area of this high mountain region will he found in 

 the Appendix, which contains my diary of the ascent 

 of Sarawaket. 



To call this region grass land when the grass is a 

 man-spread vegetation of comparatively recent date, 

 and where, were the native to cease hunting and burn- 

 ing, the coniferous forest would return, seems to me to 

 be a mistake, and so I call the region high mountain 

 forest. In the Papuan section I have assumed that 

 the Schimper hypothesis held good for New Guinea, 

 and gave extracts from Sir \Y. IffacGregor'fl explora- 



feet, and B. communae coming down to meet them from tions, which went generally to show that- the alpine 



the upper grass lands. In holes, too, are to be found grass land theory might be accepted in Paj.ua. These 

 the three species of Ruhus, and at 10,000 feet the daisy same extracts, however, read in the lighl of my ex- 



{Br achy come) 



■ffi 



ploration of high mountains in the Mandated Territory, 



